*Flashback Begins*
* A crowd is cheering as Lola stands victoriously in a ring. She had just defeated a former female knight in a wrestling match and was soaking in her victory. As she was smiling and waving a fox demihuman with orange and black hair wearing sunglasses and a blue suit came into the ring to interview her*
(Announcer): Congratulations Miss Lola on your victory. You won the match in less than five minutes. What are your thoughts?
(Lola): This wasn’t enough to be called a warm-up. Seriously, this was a former knight? Pathetic. I was told knights were the pride of the kingdom. The best of the best. The smartest of the smartest. The fastest of the fastest. The toughest of the toughest. And the strongest of the strongest. I guess that was all smoke and mirrors.
(Saber): I beg to differ.
*Lola glanced to the side to see Saber enter the ring. Saber was working security for the event and had an unamused expression on her face*
(Lola): Oho, what’s this? Did I hit a nerve little miss kni-
*Saber snatches the microphone from Lola’s hand*
(Saber): Shut your big mouth and listen. First off, that wasn’t a former knight you fought against. That girl dropped out of the academy two months in. Second, if you want to see what a knight can really do then how about you and I have a match in this very ring?
*Lola grins evilly*
(Lola): I accept. Let’s go.
(Saber): Not now, fool. You just fought and I don’t want you making any excuses. We’ll have this match two days from now.
(Lola): Fine by me. But let’s raise the stakes. Loser has to do anything the winner tells them to do. How does kissing my feet sound?
(Saber): Very well. If you defeat me I’ll kiss your feet in front of everyone without hesitation.
*The crowd cheers as the two ladies shake hands to solidify their match.
***
*Two days passed, and the match came and went as Saber stood in the ring triumphantly with Lola lying on the mat defeated. Saber had outworked and outmaneuvered every move Lola made without so much as breaking a sweat. Lola was humiliated, embarrassed, and worst of all she lost. The one thing she hated doing most. Saber walked over to Lola and offered her hand to help her up, but Lola slapped it away and sat on her knees with a disgruntled look in her eyes*
(Lola): All right! You beat me. What do you want? Out with it!
(Saber): Get on your feet and follow me. You’re going to become a knight.
(Lola): Huh!?
(Saber): I’m starting up a new unit within The White Tiger Order and you’re going to join. I’m sure you’re angry and frustrated now. Good. Use it. Become stronger. Stay close to me to test your skills. Surpass me. . .if you can. I’ll never back down from any fight and take you on, but only if you can complete a task I give you.
*Saber left the ring with Lukas and Brodie following her. Lola also exited the ring and followed after Saber. She was angry, sad, and frustrated but at the same time determined. Determined to face Saber once again and beat her, and she was willing to go through any task in order to face her again*
*Flashback Ends*
***
*In the Brister Forest, Lola was running at a fast pace*
(Lola): Damn it! Violet got beat already. We’re starting off on a bad foot here. I’ve got to find the others before it’s too late or take down one of their weaker members.
*As Lola was running Gael was jumping over her and looked down to make eye contact with Lola. Lola stopped running just as Gael landed and charged at him where her hand created icicle claws to attack him. Gael quickly ducked the attack but Lola swung down only for him to backstep away from the attack and hit a tree. Gael fired light energy balls at Lola who deflected them away with her icicle claws. When she was within striking range of Gael, Gael jumped up grabbing a branch from the tree and pulled himself up to the branch. Lola jumped up and began to follow after Gael who was jumping from branch to branch. Lola kept swinging at Gael. When Gael goes to jump for one branch he slips on ice thanks to Lola’s abilities and falls to the ground landing on his tailbone. Lola landed only a few feet away from Gael, got into a sprinting position and charged at Gael where he got back up and created his bo of light ready to fight only for Jade’s macuahuitl to come flying out of nowhere and land in between them. Lola stopped and jumped back to search for where the attacker was hiding. She didn’t need to look far as Jade came from a tree off to the side*
(Jade): Now this looks like fun. Gael, keep heading five kilometers east of here and you’ll find Jin.
(Gael): He can wait, I’ll stay behind and back you up.
(Jade): No. Stick to the plan and don’t worry about me. Now go.
*Gael hesitantly nodded his head, dissolved his bo and took off east leaving Jade to fight against Lola alone*
(Lola): That was pretty smart of you. To let the kid go like that. Cause I was going to take him down right then and there if he stuck around.
(Jade): Yep. He’s not ready to face you yet, but he sure as hell would have gotten in two or three good shots before he went down.
*Jade picks up her macuahuitl and points it at Lola*
(Jade): I on the other hand will be leaving you unconscious.
***
*Back in the observation deck, Korone was in her seat bouncing up and down excitedly next to Ryuuji watching the monitors for the match that was about to unfold. Hibana was in a seat away from the two playing a game on her Grandtendo Slide while Zia was seated in the row above them. Bradley continued to watch silently with an unamused expression on his face*
(Korone): Wahoo~! Yes! I’ve been waiting for this. This has been a dream match of mine for quite some time. I’ve always wanted to see Lola and Jade fight one another. Come on Lola! Take her down!
(Ryuuji): Aren’t you supposed to be neutral?
(Korone): Don’t get me wrong, Ryuuji. I like you guys and respect everything Shadow Eye has done, but Lola is the worst match-up for someone like Jade.
*Ryuuji was puzzled but intrigued by Korone’s statement*
(Korone): Keep watching. You’ll see.
***
*With a smile on her face, Jade charged at Lola with her macuahuitl in hand. She swings her macuahuitl at Lola who sidesteps the attack and tries to hit Jade with a big boot only to miss. Jade thrusts her macuahuitl forward only for Lola to sidestep the attack again. Lola then jumps and clutches onto the arm of Jade. Lola tried to drag Jade to the ground but she was too strong and stayed on her feet. Seeing that she was at a disadvantage, Lola quickly returns to her feet and twists the arm of Jade forcing her to let go of her macuahuitl. Jade tried to use her free hand to attack Lola, but Lola ducked and spun around to Jade’s back where she slashed her back with claws made of ice. Jade let out a scream of pain as she felt the cold chill on her back and clutched it. This allowed Lola to deliver a high kick to the side of Jade’s head and staggered her to her knees as Lola delivered a back elbow to Jade’s head which sent her flying a few feet. As Lola stayed alert as she knew this wouldn’t be enough to keep Jade down*
***
(Ryuuji): I’m starting to see what you mean now. This really is a bad match up for Jade.
(Hibana): What’s going on? How’d she take Jade down like that?
(Ryuuji): She’s a practitioner of Thatcher Style?
(Hibana): Thatcher Style?
(Zia): It’s an old form of fighting. Specializing in strikes, submissions, and reversals. You wear down your opponent by targeting specific areas of the body to soften them up. Once that’s done you apply a submission move that puts them in pain and forces them to give up. Practitioners also focus on reading their opponent’s movements and countering them.
(Ryuuji): The basic concept of Thatcher Style is to ground your opponent and destroy all their offense.
(Hibana): I get it.
(Zia): And for someone like Jade who likes to use her speed and strength to perform a lot of extravagant moves this really is a bad match up.
(Hibana): You’re not saying she’s going to lose, right?
(Zia): I don’t know. Jade’s faced a lot of opponents who specialize in Thatcher Style, but I’ve never seen someone this proficient in it. She’s going to have her work cut out for her.
***
*Jade rises to her feet smiling and clapping her hands*
(Jade): Thatcher Style. My old nemesis. *Pops her neck* And to think I thought this match was going to be boring.
*Lola creates her ice claws on one hand and charges at Jade who also charges at Lola. Lola slashed at Jade who sidesteps all of Lola’s attacks and manages to destroy the ice claws with a downward axe kick. Lola doesn’t let this bother her and goes for a high kick only for Jade to duck underneath the attack. Jade tries to kick her with a thrust kick to the chest, but Lola catches the kick. Jade jumps into the air to do a backflip in order to escape and lands on her feet. Lola tries to high kick her again where Jade ducks and Lola goes down low to sweep the legs only for Jade to do a backflip to dodge the attack. Jade lands safely as Lola returns to her feet and Jade jumps up to catch Lola in a head scissors and deliver a hurricanrana. Lola lands on her back in pain while Jade lands on her knees where she feels chilly around her ankles. She looks down and sees frost from where Lola grabbed her. Jade is slow to return to her feet while Lola recovers and goes on the attack by tackling Jade to the ground, grabbing her arm and putting her into the armbar lock. Jade desperately bends her arms to stop it from going straight. Lola uses all her strength to bend Jade’s arm straight but has no luck. It was clear that Jade was the stronger of the two, but Lola was stubborn and refused to let this chance slip away. Lola began kicking the side of Jade’s head and biting her fingers which forced Jade’s hands apart and allowed Lola to finally pull Jade’s arm down straight and lock in the armbar. Jade gritted her teeth in pain and tried to rise to her feet but had no luck. Seeing no way out of the hold without injury, Jade got ready to take drastic measures. As Lola was cranking back on the arm of Jade her eyes immediately shot open with terror as she heard a snap. This momentary shock allowed Jade to slip out of the hold and return to her feet as her right arm dangled from the side*
(Lola): Are you out of your damn mind!? You dislocated your shoulder just to-
*Before Lola could finish her sentence, she was caught off guard with a left hook to the side of her face which knocked her to the ground. Jade followed this up with a punt kick to the rib cage area of Lola which sent her flying backwards into a tree. While Lola was clutching herself in pain, Jade walked over to her macuahuitl, picked it up, placed the handle in her mouth where she bit down on it and relocated her shoulder. Once her shoulder was relocated, Jade took the handle out of her mouth and thrusted the weapon into the ground by her feet*
(Jade): We may continue.
(Lola): *Inner Thoughts* What’s with this wolf? She’s taken a lot of heavy shots yet she’s still coming at me. I’m starting to see why Saber wanted me to take her on instead of the others.
***
*Flashback*
*In a conference room, Saber was standing up front by a magic projector while the other members of Javan sat at a table looking at her*
(Saber): The next person we’ll be covering is Jade Xochitl. Aside from being a wolf demihuman not much is known about her past. She’s an outsider from Brister. Became an official citizen and knight after the rebellion. Loves to jump headfirst into fights and performs a lot of extravagant and flippy moves. Lola, I’m going to leave her to you.
(Lola): Huh?
(Saber): Your fighting style is the perfect counter to everything she does. Take her down and we’ll have our own rematch.
*Hearing that got Lola’s attention. Ever since she joined Javan one of her goals has been to beat Saber in a one-on-one fight. However, Saber would often refuse to fight unless she accomplished a great feat. Whether it be solving a big case or whatever Saber and her came to an agreement on what would be considered a great feat*
*Flashback Ends
***
(Lola): *Inner thoughts* If she had been going up against the others they wouldn’t have lasted as long as I have. She’s going to be trouble if I don’t take her down here.
*Lola rose to her feet and ran forward where she quickly got behind Jade and hit her with a German suplex. As Lola rose back to her feet so did Jade who shook off the suplex like nothing. Jade ran toward Lola and tried to punch her only for Lola to duck, get behind Jade once again, and hit her with another German suplex. Jade once again rose to her feet laughing maniacally and delivered multiple palm strikes to the chest of Lola who countered with a closed fist to the side of Jade’s head. Jade staggered a bit but shook it off and returned with a closed fist of her own to the side of Lola’s head. Lola staggered but returned to deliver another punch and started laughing maniacally. Jade and Lola began exchanging punches all while laughing*
***
*Back in the observation tower, everyone was stunned by the intense battle the two ladies were having*
(Hibana): Okay, the maniacal laughter is starting to scare me.
(Ryuuji): They’re having fun. For two hard fighting warriors like them this is how they communicate with each other. They can’t help but laugh from the pure enjoyment they’re having.
(Korone): This is also good therapy for Lola. Ever since she lost to Saber, she’s had only one goal and that’s beating her. A good goal that has helped her become stronger but she needs to learn Saber’s not the only big tree in the woods she needs to chop down.
***
*As the two demihumans continue to exchange punches, Jade gets the upper hand and knocks Lola to the ground*
(Jade): Come on. Come on. Lola girl.
*Lola quickly rises back to her feet*
(Lola): Oh you think you’re hot shit?
*Lola smacks Jade who returns with a slap of her own*
(Lola): Is that all you got?
*Lola slaps Jade again who returns the slap all while taunting Lola. After exchanging two more slaps with each other, Lola grabs the head of Jade and kisses her on the forehead*
(Lola): That’s what I think of you.
(Jade): What was that?
(Lola): You’re all talk and no bite.
(Jade): Oh really?
(Lola): You wanna call me a girl?
(Jade): It’s the truth!
(Lola): You’re just jealous of my girlish good looks. Don’t be jealous just cause I’m pretty, little pup.
*Lola then strikes Jade with a forearm and Jade retaliates with a forearm of her own before Lola leaps in the air and hits Jade with a enziguri kick which knocks Jade to the ground backwards*
(Jade): Damn it. You’ll pay for this!
*Lola runs over and kicks Jade in the back who doesn’t flinch*
(Jade): Is that all you got! Kick me, little girl!
(Lola): Oh you want more!
*Lola kicks Jade in the back even harder, but Jade just shakes it off. Jade then rises to her feet and gets nose to nose with Lola daring her to hit her again. Lola accepts the invitation and hits Jade with a forearm uppercut. Jade just laughs it off daring Lola to hit her again and she complies by hitting Jade with three more forearm uppercuts in quick succession. Jade finally has enough and grabs the head of Lola to hit her with a headbutt. The headbutt brings Lola to her knees and Jade takes a few steps back and runs toward Lola to deliver a penalty kick to her. Just when Jade was about to kick Lola, she caught Jade’s foot and rose back to her feet. As soon as Lola was back on her feet, she dropped Jade’s foot and leaped into the air to lock Jade into a front headlock with her body wrapped around Jade’s body. Lola began digging her claws into Jade and freezing up her body. Jade was quickly beginning to fade and fell to one knee before getting back up and running through the forest blindly with Lola hanging on refusing to let go. Jade finally slams Lola back first into a tree causing Lola to finally release the hold. Freed from the hold and her body starting to warm back up, Jade began pummeling Lola with punches all throughout her upper body until she finished with a discus lariat that struck with such force that it sent Lola through the tree and to the ground. Lola desperately tries to get back up and makes it to her feet with her legs wobbling and her eyes barely open while she breathes heavily taunting Jade to bring it. With a simple nod, Jade runs toward Lola and hits her with a flying knee to finally take her out. Lola lies on the ground unconscious while Jade lies next to her breathing heavily and smiling*
(PA System): Lola T’Challa is no longer unable to battle. Lola T’Challa has been eliminated.
*Jade rises back up to her feet and walks away just as the medical drones show up to pick up Lola. Once Jade is far enough, she goes to sit by a tree*
(Jade): *Sigh* I suppose I should go and find the others. I’ll do that after a quick rest.
*Jade slowly closes her eyes and falls asleep*
Author’s Notes: Here’s the hard-hitting affair I know you guys have been waiting to see. Lola’s style of fighting is based of the Catch-Can style of wrestling. It’s a style that specializes in grapple holds, strikes, and mixed martial arts. Notable wrestlers are William Regal, Minoru Suzuki, and Stu Hart. I thought this style would be the perfect counter to Jade’s style of fighting. Jade’s wrestling style is based on Mexican luchadors. Their style is more fast-paced and dynamic than the Catch-Can style which is more grounded and slower-paced. They pick a body part and wear it down until you’re forced to surrender and that was Loloa’s game plan. Wear down Jade’s body and keep the fight going at a slower methodical pace to get the win, but Jade managed to power through. She got the win but sleeping in the middle of battle is never wise. Hope nothing bad happens to her. The fights continue in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.